Love that Goes Straight to Your Heart
by Love-el-ly Joy
Summary: Buffy and Xander are working at the Doublemeat Palace, Buffy to pay off Cordelia's medical bills and Xander... well, who knows?  AU.


**A/N: Okay, so I used to hate AU, but recently, I've found myself becoming fascinated by it xD But this is just a trial run, so don't start thinking that I'll be writing AU left and right. But I've gotten to the point where I think I can nail characterization, so I can finally write it to the point where it won't suck. Buffy/Xander, because they're the shiz. May include Harmony at some point. Possibly. I was inspired by this RP I'm involved in. xD I thought the title was funny because they're like, "If you eat too much fast food, your heart will die and... " he. Hehe. I thought it was good. -_-**

**Love that Goes Straight to Your Heart**

**Chapter One**

_**Ah, another wonderful morning at L.A.'s own Doublemeat Palace.**_

_**Buffy clocked in, running her card through the little mechanical doohickey that ensured she got paid. She stuck her card back on the shelf and walked back to her locker, grabbing her hat and I.D. card that all employees were now required to wear around their necks.**_

_**On her way out to the counter, Buffy literally ran into someone. When she looked up to apologize hastily, she saw someone that she didn't recognize. Which wasn't that unusual, really, since it was mostly teenagers coming and going. But something about this guy struck her and she was mostly just thinking, "Uh... help!"**_

"_**Oh. Sorry. Uh... " she glanced at his chest, where there was no dangling plastic card. She nodded at the blank space. "You kinda don't have a nametag."**_

"_**Yeah. I need to get one." They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before the guy took pity on her. He stuck out his hand. "Xander. Xander Harris. Pleasure to meet you."**_

_**Buffy shook it eagerly. "Buffy Summers. Same. Are you heading for counter?"**_

_**Xander glanced at the orientation paper he was holding. "Actually, I was looking for you, apparently. You're supposed to show me - ooh, how to work the counter."**_

"_**Great. Let's go."**_

_**They walked briskly toward the register, Buffy waiting for the dread of another day of her terrible fate to overtake her. But it never came. Maybe it was because her sister, Cordelia, was finally starting to come out of her state of denial and beginning to just deal with the fact that Mom was dead. Maybe it was because her father, Rupert, was finally coming back from his year-long business trip in England. But Buffy wasn't completely ignorant of her own feelings, so she knew that it was because of the beautiful stranger that had made her day so much better already.**_

_**Her feeling of peace dissipated as soon as she saw the line waiting behind the counter, however. Mostly it was businessmen on their way into the office, just stopping in to get a breakfast sandwich and some coffee; maybe a salad with roast chicken for lunch later. And Buffy would have to talk to them all. To pretend that she was happy; that she was proud**_** to have gotten a job at the Doublemeat Palace rather than accepting the full scholarship to Berkeley that she'd been offered. A slow tear fell down her cheek. If only Mom hadn't...**

_**No. Don't think about Mom. You're Buffy Anne Summers, and you can do this. You have to do this, to support Cordelia. To pay for her medical bills. So that then you can be happy and she'll be as happy as she can be on antidepressants for the rest of her life. As soon as Dad gets back next month, you can reapply to Berkeley and life will be the way it used to be.**_

**"Buffy?" Xander said, snapping her out of her reverie. "Uh, customers. I'm kind of going to go out on a limb and say that we have to sell them things?"**

**"Nope!" she said, assuming a cheery voice. Better to just go ahead and get into character. "That's the first rule at this branch of the DMP. You're never trying to sell them stuff. You're providing them with one of their basic necessities out of the kindness of your heart, and the **_**friends **_**- we don't call them customers - just want to repay you for your generosity by exchanging money for the goods and service you provide."**

**"Okay. I'll try and remember that."**

**"Since this is your first day, if you screw up, I'll let it slide. Anyway, I'll get the first cu - friend and then you can try."**

**"Great. Go for it, champ."**

**Buffy turned and walked toward the counter. "Thank you for waiting. Welcome to the Doublemeat Palace; may I help you?"**

**It was the typical morning customer: forty-something, with hair just beginning to gray around the edges. He probably had a wife and some kids at home. He had an I.D. card in his wallet that identified him as working at Wolfram and Hart, a large law firm that had a branch in the area.**

**"Yeah; I'll take a decaf coffee and a ham-and-cheese bagel. I don't want any egg on it. And three sugars and two creams, please."**

**Buffy turned to Xander, pointing at where each thing was. "Grab his stuff for me, will you? I'll get the coffee and bagel."**

**Once they'd collected all the stuff, they returned to the counter. "That'll be three ninety-five, sir," Buffy said, handing him a receipt. He gave her the cash and then trundled off to his car.**

**"One down," Xander said.**

**"A billion to go," Buffy finished.**


End file.
